Chapter 297 Star Picking
Bai Zhu: "I'm from the North, why are you asking this, young lady? White isn't as noble as gold, so of course I can only wear white."
Qi Yuxuan nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite: "How old are you? I'll be fourteen soon, how about you?"
Fourteen? He doesn't look fourteen at all.
Bai Shu glanced at her chest discreetly before saying, "I'm seventeen, so I'm a little older than you, young lady."
Qi Yuxuan: "Oh, is this Aze... no, Your Highness's house? You said I've been lying here for over a month, has Your Highness told my parents? I'm afraid they'll be angry if they can't find me..."
Bai Shu frowned. What nonsense is this? How would she know?
"Miss, please ask the prince when he arrives. I don't know the answers to your questions, so I can't give you any."
"Girl, I'll go get you your medicine."
Bai Zhu quickly brought over the medicine. Although it was called medicine, it looked light pink and tasted sweet, like a herbal tea with lots of honey.
Qi Yuxuan's eyes lit up, and this look only made Bai Shu more disdainful.
She's really unsophisticated; she's so stingy even when drinking herbal medicine. She must be from a commoner family, because only the nobles of Yue could drink the Wu tribe's herbal medicine and didn't have to take those bitter pills.
Bai Shu left with the empty bowl, telling Qi Yuxuan not to wander around and to stay there, saying she would come back later.
Qi Yuxuan got out of bed by herself. There were no shoes by the bedside, so it seemed that she had really been lying there for a long time.
She could only walk barefoot on the cold, shiny floor tiles, looking around the small room.
Everything that came into view felt unfamiliar to her.
This was a country she had never been to before. She knew nothing about its etiquette, customs, or traditions. She looked at every tool and every pattern with curiosity, and everything was new and exciting.
She didn't know how long she had been watching when a soft cough came from behind her.
She blinked and looked back, meeting the face of Xuan Yuanze, who had been standing in the doorway without her noticing.
"What are you looking at?" he asked softly.
Qi Yuxuan turned around and pointed to a small green toad with a lotus leaf umbrella on a painted ceramic bowl in front of her:
"This is so unique, I've never seen anything like it before."
Xuanyuan Ze walked over, explaining as he went, "This is a deity of the Wu tribe, capable of communicating with all things, and very spiritual."
Qi Yuxuan nodded thoughtfully, "I see, thank you... Your Highness."
Xuan Yuanze's brow furrowed deeply. He suddenly reached out and grabbed Qi Yuxuan's arm: "What did you call me?!"
Qi Yuxuan felt a sharp pain on her face, her eyelashes trembling as she pulled back: "Your Highness..."
Xuan Yuanze then realized that he had used too much force, probably frightening her and hurting her, and hurriedly let go, "I'm sorry, I acted impulsively."
"But could you please stop calling me Your Highness and just call me Brother Aze? Wouldn't that be better?"
Qi Yuxuan crossed her arms, slowly lowered her head, and said in a soft voice, "Bai Shu said that it is not appropriate to call the prince by his given name directly."
Xuan Yuanze stared at the top of her head, unable to recall what Bai Shu was for a long time.
He could only gently grasp the little girl's shoulder, trying to soften his voice as he explained again:
"In front of Xiao Ye, I'm just Brother Aze, not a prince, understand?"
Qi Yuxuan remained silent.
Xuanyuanze straightened up and loosely grasped her arm. "Did I pinch you too hard just now? Let me see."
But as he looked up, his gaze was drawn to her flushed hands and smooth toes.
Xuan Yuanze acted faster than he thought. He almost instantly grabbed her armpits, lifted her up from the cold floor tiles, and placed her on his left forearm while looking at her reddened hand with his right hand.
"The ground is cold, don't walk on it barefoot."
"How did this happen? When were you injured?"
Qi Yuxuan's heart rose and fell with his movements, almost leaping out of her throat. Suddenly, she remembered that the last person to hold her like this was Qi Jun...
Her eyelids drooped, as if she hesitated to speak, and after a while she said, "It was wiped by a cloth."
Xuanyuan Ze repeated: "Cloth?"
If we used the fabric that little girls usually wear, wouldn't they avoid getting chafed? That's what Xuanyuanze thought, and that's what he did.
His gaze swept over the various fabrics in the room.
"Someone, replace all the fabrics here with the finest silks from Qi. Do it now."
Qi Yuxuan's hands naturally wrapped around the man's shoulders. Suddenly, she remembered that when she was a child, she envied Ye's father for being able to ride a horse with her younger brother. Her brother Aze secretly tried to let her ride a horse, but at that time, Xuan Yuanze was only a teenager. He lost his balance and the two of them fell down together, laughing out loud in pain.
Now, it has been achieved in another way.
The servants bowed and hunched over as they entered to change the various bedding and pillows, not daring to even glance at the carefree prince in the study, who was holding someone and reading memorials.
To be able to keep such a beauty hidden away like this, it seems that this girl, who was brought into the palace a little over a month ago, is the darling of the carefree prince.
Qi Yuxuan felt it was inappropriate to sit on a grown man's lap like this and wanted to sit on a chair herself, but before she could speak, Xuan Yuanze distracted her with a memorial to the throne and forced her to continue sitting on his lap.
The memorial concerned important matters of the court, but Xuan Yuanze did not shy away from her. Because the languages of Qi and Yue were somewhat different, Qi Yuxuan had to read it carefully for a while before she could make out that it was a memorial concerning the war between Qi and Yue, and it was signed by Li Qiu.
She knew that Li Qiu was the commander-in-chief sent by the Yue Kingdom to fight against the Qi Kingdom.
So, the war between the two countries is still at a stalemate, and no victor has been decided?
Qi Yuxuan's heart gradually calmed down. As long as the Qi Kingdom still existed, the Princess and the others would surely be safe and sound.
"What are you thinking about?"
Xuanyuan Ze used a golden pen to review it, and asked her in a deep voice.
Qi Yuxuan rested her chin on her hand, her elbows propped on the table, and her two bare feet were directly on Xuan Yuanze's shoes.
"I'm wondering why Brother Aze became a prince. Isn't a prince a very high-ranking official? I heard from a storyteller that only the emperor's son can become a prince, but isn't Brother Aze Uncle Ren's son?"
In the eyes of thirteen or fourteen-year-old Ye Zhaodi, even a county magistrate was a rare and upright official, let alone a prince or other member of the imperial family.
She said these words hoping that Xuanyuan Ze would talk more about the Qi and Yue kingdoms, but unexpectedly, Xuanyuan Ze closed the memorial, picked her up, and walked out.
"Where is Brother Aze taking me?"
Xuanyuan Ze: "You'll know when you get there."
It was already getting chilly outside, and Qi Yuxuan shivered as the early autumn wind blew.
Xuan Yuanze led her along an unguarded long road and into a tower with a plaque hanging on it. Qi Yuxuan only recognized one character: 'star'.
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